Republic travels to Webb City tonight for a Class 5 top-ten matchup, with the Cardinals ranked third and the Tigers sixth. Both teams enter at 4–1, and Republic has taken three of the last four after dropping the first 24 in the series, including a 30–21 district win in their last visit to Webb City’s field in 2022.
Coach Ryan Cornelsen said the Cardinals remain as tough as ever. “They’re a good football team. Very typical of year in and year out, not a lot of things change. They’re going to be flying around. They play extremely hard. They’re big,” he said.
Webb City features Mason Williams in the backfield, with 857 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns through five weeks. Quarterback Braden Strickland has added 200 rushing yards and 244 passing, and Gabe Johnson has contributed 331 yards and eight scores. The Cardinals average 422.2 yards and 39 points per game.
Republic will counter with a balanced attack led by Izaiah Hull (318 yards), Matthew Pelfrey (267), and Owen Klier (413). Quarterback Preston McCracken has added 412 rushing yards and 214 passing yards with four touchdowns through the air. The Tigers are averaging 46.2 points per game.
Cornelsen said Webb’s offensive flexibility makes them dangerous. “They can line up and run what you typically think of in Webb, the midline triple option, or they can get in all kinds of different formations and try to utilize some athletes in space,” he said. “So, tall task for us.”
Defensively, Republic will lean on linebacker Kaleb Norman, who had 15 tackles in last week’s win over Joplin, but more importantly is the player who helps guide the defense against Webb’s different looks. Cornelsen said Norman’s ability to recognize plays and lead the defense is critical. “We’ve got to continue to get better. We’ve got to take last week’s game and what we did well, but then we also have to improve on the things we didn’t do well,” Cornelsen said.
Cornelsen said Tigers won’t be fazed by the environment. “Our kids know we’re not really concerned with the name on the other uniform,” Cornelsen said. “No game is bigger to us than the other game. Our job is to go execute the game plan and try to win. We won’t be intimidated by anybody. But we’ve got to go execute at a really high level if you want to beat good teams, and they’re a good team.”
Kickoff is set for 7:00 at Webb City.
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